Kimonos Of The World
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are not only about competition; such large-scale international events also serve to bring people together in collaboration. In 2020, the Games are set to take place in Tokyo and one Japanese initiative is aiming to maximise the message of harmony and unity represented by the events.
The Imagine One World Kimono Project, which was founded in 2014, aims to create 206 kimonos that will each represent one of the participating nations. These kimonos will be displayed on a stage during the opening ceremony of the Games in 2020. Founded in 2014, the Imagine Oneworld Kimono Project has spent the last three years creating the kimonos and showcasing them in fashion shows in both Japan and the USA. Already, a hundred kimonos have been completed and donations are being collected to fund the creation of the remaining 106.
These kimonos will represent the wonder of Japan's master craftsmanship whilst also incorporating patterns from the culture, climate and natural beauty of each country. For example, the kimono representing Germany highlight's the country's rich musical heritage with musical notes and piano keys. Of course, the kimono featuring elephants, peacocks, lotus blossoms, and the Taj Mahal represents India.
The head of the project, Yoshimasa Takakura came up with the idea of making kimonos to represent countries when participating in a fashion show in Paris in 2013. He created a kimono that brought together 18th-century Japanese imagery with art-nouveau designs and realised that kimonos could be used in the future to bring together Japanese culture and other international cultures.
Blog post by Jessica Edney
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